McCalls M7726, Houndstooth Shorts

I have used this pattern to make trousers before, I have always likes the pleats and the paper bag-style waist. I believe the pattern has since been rebranded as McCalls M8168 - I'm  not sure if anyone knows of any changes made to the fit when the pattern was renamed?

Aaaaaaannnnddd...... It has pockets! 

If I remember right, this fabric was the end of the roll at Hillsborough. The man serving us said something about his grandfather hand spinning it in Scotland or something, and he seemed to have a 'take good care of this' glint in his eye. Could have all been a fanciful ruse, but I couldnt help but feel I had bought something special. 

So there was enough fabric there for a pair of shirts with a chunky pleat feature on the front and back. I re-traced the pattern as I emebered taking looooads out of the trousers and they can still be a bit large on a skinny day. So I sized down and found that the pleats are slightly different on the shorts, in that they are secured all the way up, and create less of a fanned-out paper-bag look above the waist. 

The pleats are still super effective though. There's something really constructive and architectural about a good strong pleat thats super satisfying to assemble. I added some interfacing into the waistline to enasure the folds and the opening of the shorts were super crisp. 

Following the instructions on this one was fun. The pockets and the fly opening came out really neat, is there anything in the sewing world more pleasing than something pretty and functional, and symmetrical? Talking of symmetrical, maybe next time I'll pay a bit more attention and sew the front belt loops on in equal places on my first attempt! I had finished the shorts, was really pleased with myself, looked in the mirror to find my front loops were lopsided! Ooops! 

Fit-wise, I found I did have to take more in for them to fit nicely on the hips, which left me wondering if I should have sized down even more?? Some days I feel I am relying quite strongly on a sturdy belt to keep them where they should be (how cool is this one I found in Glass Onion Vintage in Sheff city centre??!). 

Of course taking some out of the side seams late in the day reduces the size of the pocket opening, so maybe grading down a size next time would be the way to go. 

I'm a big fan of a turn up, I like the depth of these turn ups, but I took some convincing in the early stages that the fold didn't look too baggy. I think they would have benefitted from a bit of interfacing to keep them crisp like the waistband. It wasn't a big enough niggle for me to unpick and re turn-up though. 

I love these little explorer shorts! I feel like I'm off on safari! I love the lil houndsooths on this super spacial woven fabric. 

Thanks McCalls for another joyful pattern. 

x
Location: Castlegate, Sheffield City Centre
Currently listening to: Space Between Us, Franc Moody